Since its inception, the human being has had to face death and along with it the need to allocate a specific site to deposit the bodily remains of their beloved ones, using small areas of land specifically designed for that purpose known as cemeteries, however, with the fast growth of the population, said spaces quickly diminished in their capacity to house bodies, so as this need grew, other options were sought to deposit human remains and one of these solutions was the columbarium, that is, a set of niches arranged in the cemeteries where cinerary urns were placed, the columbarium currently being one of the most widely used options for the deposit of arid remains.
After the implementation of the columbariums, the problem no longer referred to the physical space where the human remains were deposited, but to the characteristics of the niches from which these columbariums were built, which were initially erected with stone and mud or with bricks and cement, representing fixed and permanent constructions that included wide extensions of land in spaces originally destined for this purpose.
Although over time the columbariums improved their appearance by implementing materials such as marble, they maintained the restriction of not adapting to the spaces originally conceived for their installation, as well as being unpleasant to the eye.
Recently, contributions have been made in the field of niches for the deposition of human ash, however, by solving the problem of physical problems, these contributions have generated new problems, which are generally reflected in the external appearance of the niches, its, functionality, lack of security relating to the protection of its contents and the dark and cold that they are as a result both of its interior and exterior.
Likewise, it must be said that the current closure systems implemented in the niches known to date, are impractical, since sometimes closure elements are implemented sharing up to four niches, that is, an individualized closure system is not common for each niche and when it exists, it is not very aesthetic or low security, allowing any person equipped with just a screwdriver or tweezers access the interior of a niche and along with it to the values that are protected in it.
It is widely known that the cover of the niches currently implemented is a marble plate, which requires special care to be removed, because due to the hardness characteristics of this material, it is exposed to suffer cracks or ruptures that make it impossible to continue to be used, in addition that through this material is completely impossible to have visual access to the interior of the niche, a condition that requires the constant removal and placement of the cover to thereby be able to visualize the interior of the niche, action that potentiates the risk of damaging the cover and with it the integration of a niche.
The solution to the problem of physical space, the individuality of the niches and the access to the interior of them is reflected in the patent documents listed below:
U.S. Pat. No. 9,080,344 dated Jul. 14, 2015, issued to Charles T Young and Kennth B. Bridgeman for the invention entitled “Modular Crypt and Modular Crypt System with Niche Side Wall”, in which a modular crypt structure is disclosed and protected comprises a frame, a module insert defining a chamber and a closure panel and methods for construction thereof. The chamber works as a crypt module and is adapted to receive bodily remains or portions thereof. The chamber is closed by joining a closure panel, such as the front part of a stone crypt to the frame, by which encapsulates the body remains. The modular crypt structure may comprise a plurality of chambers whereby a plurality of crypt modules is provided and the frame may comprise a plurality of horizontal bars and a plurality of vertical bars. A method for constructing a modular crypt structure comprising constructing a frame, providing at least one module insert, configuring the insert to define a chamber adapted to receive the bodily remains and closing the crypt module is described. A modular crypt system is disclosed which includes a niche side wall, having a niche side wall frame, a niche insert defining a plurality of niches placed within the frame and a closure panel placed in the side wall frame of the niche.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,477,594 issued Dec. 26, 1995 to Bernard E. LePage for the invention titled “Niche Panel” from which a modular urn holder comprising a niche panel made of a material of polymer, wherein each niche panel is convertible and a top wall, a bottom wall and a side wall of the urn holder can be used, the niche panels being interconnected by corner connectors that are slidably connected to the ends of the panels, likewise the niche panel comprises two panel members that are snap-assembled to form the hollow panel and each panel is molded to contain slits that provide the shelves a slidable coupling within the slots to subdivide the niche into smaller compartments, finally the niche is adaptable to accept a variety of types of front shutters.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,812 dated Mar. 3, 1993, granted to John K. Eickhof for the invention titled “Columbarium”, a columbarium is disclosed which is constructed with a frame having vertically extending spacers and presenting support elements, wherein link bars extend horizontally through the supports to connect the vertical dividers and the shelves rest on the support elements in the spaces formed by separators that extend vertically and also conceal the link bars, giving an improved appearance, the backrest covers the back of the columbarium and the front covers conceal each niche, decorative stone linings can then be attached to the front of the shelves, achieving a variety of sizes due to the flexibility and height of the vertical dividers and the width of the link bars. Additionally the columbarium can be constructed using modules that can be transported and then assembled with additional link bars that extend between the supports.
And finally the patent MX 221141 granted on Jun. 23, 2004 to Martin Gómez Bisogno titled “Method to elaborate crypts, for deposits of ashes and arid remains and methods of installing the same”, novel crypts for deposits of ashes and arid remains are disclosed and claimed that are built through frames that are embedded or are assembled under pressure, consisting of a steel structure that functions as a support for the modular or furniture, specifically works as a skeleton joined by autogenous welding that join the parts, automotive paint and sealant used to prevent corrosion and wear, galvanized sheet that separates both horizontal and vertical divisions forming independent drawers, marble to cover the remaining drawer and escutcheons and screws to secure said marble top.
From the teachings of the prior art presented before and other teaching that without being disclosed are part of the field of application of the proposed invention, it is possible to say that the majority of the current proposals of niches, although they allow the integration of columbariums from a plurality of niches, none of them anticipates to the possibility of each niche incorporate as part of its structural configuration a system of individual closure that allows the fixing and removal of an access door to the interior of the niche, wherein said door also fulfills the function of being a screen through which it is possible to see the illuminated interior of each niche, which is why under the title “Illuminated niches for storing cinerary urns”, this novel invention is disclosed with the following objects.